Hose clamps are commonly utilized to join hoses and fittings or connectors (referred to hereinafter as fittings) together, especially within the automotive industry. With the increasing demands for efficiency within the manufacturing/installation process, manufacturers have requested that parts be delivered already partially assembled. With respect to hose clamp assemblies, this translates to having the hose clamps located on and around a hose a given distance from its end and at a predetermined radial orientation, prior to their delivery for installation. In this manner, an assembler does not have to rotate or longitudinally move the clamp around to a different position to effect tightening of the clamp and completion of installation. Several methods have been utilized to attach and locate hose clamps for one or more of these purposes. Examples of locators that are used in conjunction with clamps include: spring liners that circumscribe a hose and constrict it to maintain its position; adhesive for attaching the clamp to the hose at the prescribed location; plastic retainers that “tie” around a hose; a rubber “patch” which has been positioned over the band and then vulcanized; and various clip configurations that attach to the clamp and around the end of a hose, very similar to a paper clip.
In a further desire for design and material usage efficiencies, it has been proposed to position a hose clamp in close proximity to the end of the hose, sometimes as close as 4 mm or less from the end. This close positioning further requires the locator to be able to resist random handling forces that would tend to misalign or detach the located clamp. The industry refers to this as resistance to “pull-off”. At such a close proximity to the end of a hose, the rigidity of the hose is substantially lower, thereby creating problems with locators that rely on such rigidity, as the hose tends to “cave in” when exposed to an inward radial pressure, such as from spring liners and plastic retainers. The use of adhesive to locate a clamp in such situations has also proven unsatisfactory for many reasons, including the lack of sufficient surface area to provide an adequate bond. Additionally, adjusting the length of standard clip configurations has created problems in that the rigidity of the clips has conflicted with and prevented the clamps from achieving adequate sealing. As the clamp has been tightened in such configurations, the rigidity and length of the locator clip has actually interfered with the clamp itself. This has caused the locator to undesirably deflect the clamp outwardly and separate the hose from the fitting. There is a need for a modified locator and clamp that is able to statically position a hose clamp in a predetermined radial orientation, and in close proximity to the end of a hose, and resist substantial pull-off loads.